Welcome to your Sunday, friend. Of ALL the words in the world, the one that’s managed to sneak into nearly every language isn’t poetic or inspiring. Nope. It’s short, sweet.

🗣️ Can you guess what the most universally spoken word in the world is: A) Hello, B) Okay, C) Stop or D) Love? The answer is patiently waiting at the end!

✅ Forward this newsletter to that one coworker or friend who still uses “1234” as a password. You know the one. — Kim

That’s my dad in the photo. I used a tool called Remini (more about it below) to sharpen and enhance the image. Pretty amazing, right? The original is on the left, and the clearer, AI-upgraded version is on the right.

I bet you probably have boxes (or albums or old hard drives) full of family photos, some faded, some scratched and some that never made it past black and white. But here’s the thing, they’re priceless. They’re time machines. And right now, they’re just degrading.

That’s where tech comes in, and the tools out there now are incredible. You can bring your old photos back to life with just a few taps. I’m talking full color, restored detail, even animation.

Here are my favorites. PSA: You’ll find both free and paid plans.

🧙‍♂️ Deep Nostalgia

This one gives me chills (in a good way). Upload a portrait, say your grandfather in uniform, your great-grandmother as a child, and it animates the photo. They blink, smile and move gently like they’re in a video.

It’s eerie. It’s beautiful. And it’s something you’ll want to share with your family.

🔗 myheritage.com/deep-nostalgia

✨ Remini

This AI app sharpens old, blurry or grainy photos with stunning results. It works wonders on faces, smoothing out noise, brightening eyes and making even out-of-focus shots look camera-ready.

🔗 https://app.remini.ai

🌈 Colorize

Have a favorite black-and-white photo? Drop it into this app, and it automatically adds color, not the cheesy, cartoon kind, but realistic tones based on historical and skin tone data. It’s fast, simple, incredibly fun and makes 1925 look like 2025.

🔗 photomyne.com

Honorable mention: If you’re looking for a free app without all the bells and whistles, Google PhotoScan is pretty amazing.

Great accessories

If you’re dealing with a ton of photos, check out these nifty gadgets to make capturing the images easier.

📸 A little box magic: This foldable light box ($39.99) gives you the perfect lighting setup without glare or shadows.

Snap like a pro: A two-pack of remote shutters ($7.99, 11% off) lets you capture your pics without touching your phone.

👉 Shaky hands? Clamp a phone holder ($22.99, 8% off) to any table to keep your shot steady.

Let there be light: View and digitize your old negatives with this ultra-thin light pad ($39.99).

Once you’ve revived those images, start a private shared album for your family. Add audio notes or written captions to keep the stories alive. Be the reason your family gets together and sees what the new era of scrapbooking can do.

If this inspired you, use the share buttons below. You never know who else has a treasure trove of memories waiting to be revived.

💻 Israel vs Iran online: The conflict isn’t just happening on the ground. It’s playing out in cyberspace, too. A hacking group linked to Israel apparently hit an Iranian bank, cutting off access to people’s money. Then, fake texts were sent to Israelis, warning of terror attacks on bomb shelters to stir panic. Tense times.

Chinese pump and dump stocks: Scammers are sliding into DMs and WhatsApp chats, posing as financial advisers. They’ll hype up shares in small Chinese companies listed on the Nasdaq that look promising. The twist? Insiders are manipulating the price. Once you buy in, they cash out, and you lose thousands (paywall link).

📞 Hackers love call centers: They’re bribing low-paid call center workers to bypass security (paywall link) and loot crypto wallets. Coinbase alone may be out $400 million. All it took was screenshots, Chrome bugs and $2,500 Venmo bribes.

It’s rough out there: You need to be proactive. This is one of the smartest things you can do to protect your identity. Don’t wait till it’s too late, sign up for NordProtect today and get 65% off. Bet you save a ton of money making the switch to NordProtect, too!*

🪞 Deepfake boss attack: A crypto employee thought they were on a Zoom call with their company’s C-suite. Turns out it was North Korean hackers deepfaking the entire leadership team. That “Zoom extension” they asked you to download? Straight malware on macOS. Someone out there is cosplaying your manager to steal your crypto and mess with your M1 chip.

Teen breaks into jail: A 19-year-old from New York snuck into a shut-down prison just to snap selfies. He crawled through a hole in the fence, wandered around and accidentally locked himself in a real cell. The twist? He had to call the cops to get out ... and got arrested for trespassing. Genius move.

💒 Joined together in holy macaroni: Forget vows and veils, the rich are throwing music festivals disguised as weddings (paywall link). Think $500K holograms, $170K drapery and Rihanna on both the RSVP and performer list. Jeff Bezos is reportedly next, with a Venetian island, protests and a chilled Renaissance castle. Love is patient, love is kind, and love now has a dedicated caviar stylist.

Your email deserves privacy. That’s why I recommend and trust StartMail. StartMail is a private, secure email service, like Gmail, but built for your privacy. No tracking. No ads. No Big Tech snooping. Just you and your inbox.

You also get unlimited disposable addresses to keep your real email safe from spam and junk.

Here’s a great note from one of my readers, Monty B: “Hello, I took your recommendation for StartMail two years ago. Best decision I have made for a while. Great service!”

Switching to StartMail is easy. You can move your contacts and emails, and it works with Apple Mail, Outlook, and more.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Turn your phone into a level: On iPhone, open the Measure app > tap Level. On Android, Google “bubble level” and one pops up.

🐶 Happy tails ahead: Dog lovers, check out Nylabone’s Dog Park Locator. Just pop in your ZIP code, and boom, you’ll see all the nearby dog parks. Remember: Always check the rules, make sure it’s securely fenced and keep an eye on your pup around unfamiliar dogs.

Speed up your Kindle: Feeling slow? It might need a cleanup. Go to Settings > Device options > Storage management, then tap Manual removal. Choose the Books, Audible or Docs folder and scroll through the list. Tick anything you don’t need, then tap Remove to free up space.

🕹️ Know what they’re playing: Before your kid buys a new video game, go to ESRB.org and type the title into the search bar. You’ll see the official rating (like E for Everyone or M for Mature), plus a breakdown of what’s in it. Things like violence, language and sexual content are all listed.

YouTube Shorts for channel growth: The algorithm pushes Shorts hard, making them a good way to get discovered fast. Just make sure your video is vertical (9:16, aka phone style) and under 60 seconds. Pro tip: Avoid copyrighted music, so you don’t get hit with a content claim.

📝 LinkedIn post formula: Start with one spicy sentence, like “If AI doesn’t take your job, someone using it will.” Keep it short, so people don’t have to click “more.” Then, follow it up with a takeaway that adds value and invites comments. Hiring? Click here to post a job for free.*

✨ My beauty picks take you from “meh” to “ahhh-mazing.”

👍 4.3 stars with over 75K reviews: These acne patches with tea tree oil ($8.49) zap zits while you snooze.

Plus, Lisa wants AI small biz help, Steph found $1,000 thanks to Kim, Rose looks for an Amazon Archive replacement, Chris makes an online store, Joe needs tech travel tips, and so much more!

📦 Watch random stuff get crushed: Satisfy your inner gremlin, because sometimes, you just want to see a bowling ball get obliterated.

Become a digital ornithologist: Explore an immersive 3D sound map of birds.

🛍️ Shop Prime Day early: It starts on July 8, but I found the secret link for you to get some of the deals right now.

Read internet ghost stories: Get creeped out by the best user-submitted horror tales.

👾 Play AI-generated retro games: Get served completely random indie games: some awesome, others … not so much.

Answer: B) Okay. Yep, “OK” is the most universally understood word on Earth. It’s infiltrated nearly every language without even trying. Linguists think it stuck because it’s snappy, neutral and works in almost any context: a shoulder shrug, a subtle threat or an “I read your text, and I’m pretending to care.”

🇫🇷 It’s incredible how many French words are now used in the English language. There’s “hors d’oeuvres” for starters. (lol)

This is the #1 tech newsletter in the U.S. Full stop. Zero spam. Infinite tech smarts. Tomorrow: OpenAI’s bioweapon warning, call center hackers, fambushing and brain stagnation.

Until next time, go be the tech-savvy friend everyone turns to! 🫡 — Kim

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